Crescent Moon Illuminates Killing Intent (Part 1)

Whoosh!

That point of azure cold light tore through the last shred of luck in the air between the trees, piercing directly towards Cheng Xi's brow! Fast! So fast that his thoughts couldn't even keep up with the trajectory of death. The icy killing intent felt like solid needles, piercing his endangered consciousness before anything else.

It's the Yin Yang School! Or perhaps Lu Buwei trying to silence him? Cheng Xi's mind only had time to flash this thought. The Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi on his back was like a starved wolf smelling blood, madly eroding his meridians. The life force from the Jianmu Fragment was like a drop in the bucket, barely protecting his heart. At this moment, even moving a finger was as difficult as ascending to heaven, let alone dodging this long-planned fatal blow!

Yan Lingji was right beside him, her hands still tightly gripping the Qingping Sword Sheath, trying to guide that sliver of life-saving sword intent. Her pale face was contorted in agony and spiritual exhaustion. Her eyes were tightly shut, completely unaware of the deadly sneak attack. The cloud patterns on the sword sheath flickered erratically, its faint blue-white glow reflecting on her blood-stained clothes, making her look as fragile as a candle in the wind.

A dead end!

At the critical moment, the rampaging Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi within Cheng Xi actually produced a strange, instinctive reaction due to the extreme external killing intent!

[Warning! External high-dimensional energy attack locked! Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi is contracting defensively in response! Target: Protect and erode host (instinct)!... Energy collision point prediction: Yintang Acupoint!...]

The System's alarm was so sharp it almost tore through his sea of consciousness! Just as the azure poison needle was about to pierce his brow--

Hum!

At Cheng Xi's Yintang acupoint, dense, black-grey energy carrying the stench of decay and death surged out from the depths of his meridians like a provoked beast! It wasn't under his control; it was purely the instinctual defense of the curse-level ghost qi facing an invasion of its "territory"!

Screech!

The azure poison needle fiercely stabbed into the suddenly condensed barrier of black-grey ghost qi!

There was no crisp clang of metal, only a teeth-grinding hiss of intense energy annihilation! The azure cold light and the black-grey death qi clashed, tore, and annihilated each other madly! The sinister spiritual energy contained within the poison needle was clearly caught off guard by this sudden, though similarly Yin-natured but fundamentally higher-tier, Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi!

Puff!

The spiritual energy within the poison needle was ultimately limited. Under the mad, instinctive counterattack of the Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi, the azure light flickered violently, finally emitting a soft sound. Like corroded ice crystals, it shattered inch by inch in mid-air, annihilating itself! Only a few wisps of smoke with the smell of burnt sulfur remained, quickly dissipating into the cold night wind.

The ghost qi that had condensed at Cheng Xi's Yintang also thinned considerably due to the intense consumption. It was even scattered by the residual force of the poison needle, temporarily retreating into the depths of his meridians. Intense pain accompanied by severe dizziness struck him. Cheng Xi's vision went black, his throat tightened, and a small mouthful of black blood foamed at the corner of his lips.

A narrow escape? No! The crisis had merely shifted from his brow to his back! Although the Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi had instinctively "saved" his life, this reactive outburst had also opened the floodgates, doubling the speed at which the curse's power eroded his meridians! The life force from the Jianmu Fragment was instantly suppressed. The icy death qi, like countless ice needles, furiously stabbed towards his internal organs!

"Urgh..." Cheng Xi couldn't help but let out a suppressed groan, his body trembling violently.

"Who?!" Yan Lingji was startled awake by the change. She opened her eyes sharply, her flame-like pupils dim but instantly locking onto the direction the poison needle had come from—the dense, swaying treetops above, like ghostly shadows!

However, the treetops were silent. Only the rustling of leaves in the night wind could be heard, as if the deadly sneak attack had been nothing but an illusion.

But Yan Lingji and Cheng Xi both knew it wasn't an illusion. The assassin was still there! Like a viper lurking in the shadows, having missed its first strike, it was ready to launch its next, more fatal attack at any moment. Yan Lingji struggled to stand, wanting to activate her Witch Fire, but the searing pain in her shoulder and the complete depletion of her spiritual energy left her weak. She could only grip the Qingping Sword Sheath tightly, vigilantly scanning her surroundings.

"Don't move... save your strength..." Cheng Xi's voice was as hoarse as a broken bellows, each word carrying blood foam. "Use... the sword sheath... to guide the sword intent... strike my back... the Ghost Gate Acupoint!" This was the only path to survival the System had instantly deduced after the ghost qi's reaction, combining it with the properties of the Sky-Severing Sword Intent! Using the sword intent's extreme Yang and fierceness to forcibly strike the core node of the ghost qi! The risk was immense, a one-in-nine chance of survival, but there was no other choice now!

Yan Lingji looked at the three black, festering wounds on Cheng Xi's back, shrouded in death qi. Then she looked at the sword sheath in her hand, its light dim but containing supreme sharpness. Flames surged in her eyes, a look of desperate resolve. "Endure it!" she grunted, using all her remaining will to once again communicate with the slumbering sword intent deep within the sheath.

This time, perhaps due to the extreme concentration of will at the brink of life and death, or perhaps because the sword sheath sensed the similar source of death qi from the Secluded Valley within Cheng Xi (though corrupted), this wisp of Sky-Severing Sword Intent was stirred even more clearly than before!

Zing!

A clear sword cry emanated from the sheath, no longer a faint hum but a short, yet incredibly distinct, declaration! A condensed-to-the-thread, purely extreme green sharpness instantly formed at the mouth of the sheath! Though thin, the sharpness carried the supreme will to sever all bonds and shatter all laws!

A fierce glint flashed in Yan Lingji's eyes. Grasping the sword sheath tightly, she used it as a conduit, controlling that thread-like yet mountain-heavy green sword intent, and fiercely thrust it towards Cheng Xi's back—the Ghost Gate Acupoint! It wasn't a physical stab, but a cut on the level of laws!

Ch!

The moment the sword intent entered his body, Cheng Xi felt as if his soul had been thrown into a furnace! Or as if an invisible blade was slicing him open from the inside!

"Ah--!!!"

A horrific scream, unlike any human sound, tore from his throat! His muscles instantly tensed like iron, veins bulged, and fine beads of blood seeped from his skin! The three wounds on his back erupted with a large amount of viscous, black, foul-smelling blood!

[Sky-Severing Sword Intent locked onto target! Annihilation in progress! Target: Core of Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi (Source of Curse)!... Energy collision! Meridian damage worsening!... Warning! Host's vital signs rapidly declining!...]

The System's alarm raged in sync with the physical agony! Cheng Xi felt his consciousness being violently pulled between boundless pain and icy stillness. Where the sword intent passed, it was like a searing hot iron branding his frozen meridians. The bone-chilling Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi melted like snow, but the melting process also brought the excruciating pain of his meridians being torn by the sword intent's edge! The Jianmu life force, within the "channel" opened by the sword intent, struggled to repair his riddled body, making a final tug-of-war with the residual ghost qi.

This was a brutal, law-level war waged in a tiny space!

Sweat, blood, and murky black fluids mixed together, drenching Cheng Xi. He gritted his teeth so hard his gums bled, forcibly swallowing the subsequent screams, leaving only uncontrollable, violent spasms.

Yan Lingji was also suffering. Controlling the sword intent consumed her remaining mental energy and spiritual power. Her face was as pale as paper, and blood trickled from the corners of her mouth, but her eyes remained fixed on Cheng Xi's back, her hands steady as Bedrock.

Time seemed to freeze. Every breath felt like an age.

Finally!

The color of the murky blood gushing from Cheng Xi's back turned from black to dark red, and finally to bright red! Around the edges of the three hideous wounds, the terrifying black decay rapidly receded. Although still deep enough to see bone, the skin and flesh had returned to a normal color. Under the residual effects of the sword intent and the Jianmu life force, the gaping wounds even began to slowly writhe and heal! The lingering cold death qi and decay dissipated like morning mist evaporated by the scorching sun, mostly gone!

[Core of Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi (Curse-level) 92.3% annihilated! Residual ghost qi has lost its activity and is being purified by Jianmu life force... Meridian damage severe, requires rest... System energy depleted to 5%...]

It was done!

The sword intent's sharpness slowly withdrew from Cheng Xi's body, re-entering the Qingping Sword Sheath. The light on the sheath completely dimmed, as if it had exhausted its last ounce of strength. Yan Lingji could no longer hold on. Her vision went black, and she slumped backward, falling unconscious, still clutching the sword sheath tightly.

Cheng Xi, as if pulled from water, was drenched and gasping for air. Every breath was a searing pain, but the icy, parasitic erosion within his body was finally gone. In its place was the exhaustion of a narrow escape and the burning pain of damaged meridians. He struggled to look back at the unconscious Yan Lingji, confirming she was merely exhausted, and felt a slight relief.

However, this relief from surviving the ordeal lasted less than a second--

"Hehehe..."

A cold, ethereal, and strangely rhythmic chuckle suddenly echoed through the silent forest. The laughter wasn't loud, yet it seemed to resonate directly in one's heart, carrying a detached indifference of looking down on ants, and a hint of... amusement.